The Challenge of Drawing QR Codes in Latte Art - Can They Actually Be Scanned?
Can You Draw a QR Code in Latte Art?
To give the conclusion first, drawing a "scannable" QR code with hand-poured latte art is almost impossible. Latte art is a technique of drawing patterns with the white foam of steamed milk on the brown surface of espresso, but reproducing the precise grid pattern a QR code needs freehand on top of a liquid is beyond the precision of the human hand.
Even the smallest QR code version (21 by 21 modules) requires 441 modules to be placed accurately. Even master latte artists are limited to organic shapes such as hearts, leaves, and swans, and digital grid patterns are a fundamentally poor match for them.
Still, challenge videos along the lines of "I tried drawing a QR code in latte art" are popular content on YouTube and TikTok. Most of them cannot be scanned, but drawing "something that looks like a QR code" works as entertainment in its own right.
Food Printers Are a Different Story
Even if it is impossible by hand, a food printer (an inkjet printer for food) can print a scannable QR code on the surface of a latte. Dedicated machines that are filled with cartridges of edible ink and print directly on the surface of coffee foam are sold for cafes.
A representative product is the Ripple Maker. It is a device that can print photos, text, QR codes, and more on the foam of a cappuccino or latte in a few seconds, and it has been adopted by cafes and events around the world. The ink used for printing is an edible ink based on coffee bean extract, and it does not affect the taste.
A QR code printed with a food printer can be scanned for the few minutes before the foam breaks down. It is used for things like the cafe's Wi-Fi connection details, today's recommended menu items, and the cafe's SNS follow page, as a light nudge along the lines of "scan this before you drink your coffee."
QR Codes on Top of Drinks - Unique Examples from Around the World
Beyond coffee, attempts to turn the surface of a drink into a gateway to information are being made in many countries. Known methods include shining a laser on beer foam to remove only part of the foam and draw a pattern with the brown liquid surface inside the white foam, floating a code printed with edible ink or on an edible wafer on a drink, and printing directly on the sealing film of a tapioca drink.
Contrast decides whether it can be read: With any of these methods, what separates success from failure is whether there is enough difference between light and dark, such as bright foam against a dark liquid surface. Drinks like a matcha latte, where vivid green sits next to white foam, make it easy to secure contrast, while in drinks with little variation in color the pattern sinks in and the camera cannot make it out.
The link leads to the story behind the cup: A QR code placed on a drink is used as a gateway to the recipe, the origin of the ingredients, or a page introducing the maker. Because it can tell customers "if you like it, you can make it at home too," it works as a touch that turns a single cup into a point of contact for promotion.
Why Do "Drinks and QR Codes" Get People Talking?
The reason QR codes on top of drinks tend to become a topic on SNS lies in the combination of "surprise" and "transience." QR codes are normally printed on stable media such as paper or screens. The fact that one exists in an unstable place, the surface of a liquid, is surprising in itself, and the transience of vanishing once you drink it creates the urge to take photos and videos and share them.
From a marketing perspective, a "QR code on top of a drink" is excellent in that the product itself becomes the advertising medium. You cannot know whether people will look at a signboard or a flyer, but a QR code printed on the surface of the coffee in front of you will almost certainly be seen. What is more, it naturally sparks the curiosity of "let me try scanning it."
Edible QR Codes - The World of Sweets and Bread
It is not only drinks; examples of printing QR codes on the surface of food are also increasing. The foods on which QR codes can be printed with edible ink are wide-ranging, including cookies, macarons, cake decorations, and the surface of bread.
A QR code is printed on a cookie given as a wedding favor, and scanning it plays a video message of thanks from the bride and groom. A company adds a QR code to a logo macaron as a promotional novelty, and scanning it takes you to a campaign page. Such "edible QR codes" are becoming established as a tool that adds playfulness to gifts and events.